An Odd Case of Lycanthropy

I wrote this many years ago, and it had never gotten published. So I to post it on this site.

I wanted to be human. My friend Mitt thought I was crazy.

He said dogs will always be dogs and nothing else. But I didn’t believe him. But, I would find he was right.

#

This morning I felt fat. Well, I always feel fat (I’m a Bull Dog.) I also felt taller. I moved my back legs to scratch my Butt. My leg gave a pang of discomfort. I should stretch, I thought. That should work.

I stretched out and felt longer. Then I tried to scratch my butt. Man that felt great.

I then got ready for my morning jaunts. My paws felt cold. My paws usually didn’t get so cold. I looked at my paws. They were human hands. I fainted.

#

I woke to the smell of hot dogs and a strong hand shaking me. “Mista, Mista, are ya hurt?” Another shake. I sat up to see who was shaking me. It was a man.

He had a face black with dirt and grime. He also had very old shoes and a trench coat that had holes and looked like Swiss cheese.

I couldn’t find the words to say! All I could do was make a low guttural sound. “Ya look cold mista. Hurs my jacket.”

#

Our friendship started from that moment. I found out the guys name. His name was Russ. Russ showed me how to “walk” and Russ showed me how to “borrow”.

The “borrowing” came in handy and I got some “pants” and what Russ called a “hoodie”.

He also showed me how to beg and I got a hot dog.

The hot dog was heavenly. I could live like this for months.

# Being human gets boring. Especially when you can’t talk.

Every time I dreamt, I dreamed of being a dog running free.

I dreamt of chasing cats with Mitt and running from the dog catcher.

# The next day, Russ noticed me feeling gloomy and tried to cheer me up, but it didn’t work. The next day I saw Mitt. He was just eating a bone when the dogcatcher came.

The dogcatcher caught Mitt with his net. Mitt struggled like a fish out of water.

I couldn’t stand it any more. I bared my teeth and growled angrily. “Man, ya ok?” I ignored Russ’s question. I took off my pants and hoodie and attacked. The dogcatcher yelled for help. I scratched and bit him viciously. The dog catcher let go and off ran Mitt towards an alley.

I ran off with Mitt and I became a dog again.

# I see Russ once in a while. I say hi sometimes and he pets me in between the ears, never knowing I was the man he helped months earlier.

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